Use a meat thermometer and make sure the internal temperature of the chicken is at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit, according to a recent warning from the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the US Department of Agriculture. This means really cooking the chicken, in a regular oven or microwave, not merely thawing it.
Some consumers have fallen ill with salmonella, a type of bacteria that causes diarrhea, after they did not follow the cooking directions on packages of frozen chicken, said a USDA spokesman, Roger Sockman. Many frozen chicken products, such as chicken Kiev and chicken cordon bleu, may appear to be precooked, but are actually only prebreaded or prebrowned. Thus, microwaving only to the point of thawing will not kill salmonella, which causes an estimated 1.4 million cases of food borne illnesses and more than 500 deaths every year, according to government figures.
